Devil's Advocate
by TheThirdGreywaren
Summary: Time is running out for Reid and Prentiss, and with no new leads, the BAU finds themselves scrambling to save their family. (Sequel to Devil's Backbone. I suggest reading that story before this one. Rated M to be safe.)


Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

"_Hell is empty. All the devils are here_."

- **'The Tempest', William Shakespeare**

There was something oddly comforting about the cement floor to Spencer Reid.

It was cold, for one thing; he must of had a fever of over 100 degrees, if his burning skin was telling the truth. The cool material felt heavenly against his flushed and burning forehead.

Not to mention the feeling of tiny pieces of concrete biting into his skin as he laid on them grounded him to the earth, kept him conscious.

He knew that he was, put simply, completely screwed. The hours - or was it days? - blurred together into a mix of pain, unconsciousness, and the feeling of burning alive inside of his own skin. He knew that his broken leg was infected, because Reid knew how many germs could fester on a floor like this, even though the numbers and statistics were as hazy as the rest of his memory.

He didn't know whether he could blame it on the delirious effects of his slowly spiking fever or the concussion the UnSub had given him in order to knock him out and take him.

Since he was slowly sliding back into the pitch black void of unconsciousness, he decided to blame his memory problems on both, and closed his eyes.

.

The sound of crying startled Morgan from his sleep.

He sat up quickly, his hand automatically reaching for the gun in his bedroom side table, but he found that the side table was empty. Cursing quietly, he scanned the room, and when his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized that he wasn't home, but instead in a hotel room.

He was still in Oregon, and his best friends were still missing.

He started to reach out to turn on the lamp beside his bed, but then stopped. He recognized the sound of muffled crying from someone trying to hide it, and then he realized that the sound was coming through the wall of the room next to his, which was Garcia and J.J.'s room.

He clicked on his light and got up to go check on his friends, but paused when he heard Garcia's voice, and he listened as Garcia comforted J.J., and the crying eventually tapered off and stopped completely. Morgan smiled. His Baby Girl knew how to comfort the BAU members, whether with cute gifts, affectionate pet names, or just hugs and soft words. They were lucky to have her.

Morgan went to climb back into bed to try and grab a few more hours of sleep, but he stopped with a sigh. He knew he couldn't go back to sleep. He had gotten just enough to allow him to push forward with enough coffee and prayers.

Deciding that the extra time would be best spent reviewing the case files, Morgan started to make a pot of coffee, not caring that he had only the crappy hotel issued brand, and settled down for a long night full of frustration and worry.

.

Something cool brushed his forehead, and Reid sighed in contentment.

"Reid? Please open your eyes." Prentiss said softly. Reid opened them slowly, but he quickly shut them as the overhead light caused his head to ache sharply. His stomach turned, and he began to roll onto his side as bile rose in his throat.

He gagged and heaved, and when he finished throwing up what little was left in his stomach, Prentiss helped him lie back, moving to block the light from hitting his face. She murmured soothing words as she brushed back the hair from his forehead, grimacing at how hot his skin was.

After a few moments, Reid opened his eyes a crack. Prentiss offered him a strained smile.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

His expression turned concerned, and he tried to sit up. Prentiss gently but firmly pushed him back down, and keeping a hand on his chest, gave him a stern glare. "Stay still or else you'll get sick again."

Reid listened and laid still, but he asked, "Is help coming?" His voice was raspy.

"Of course. I thought you would know that, genius," Prentiss said lightly.

Reid frowned. "They better come soon," he muttered. His eyes closed as he began to drift off again.

Prentiss let him sleep, gently brushing back his hair in hopes of keeping him calm. She thought the same thing, because it looked like Reid didn't have much more than a day or two left in him.

.

Time was running out, and Hotch didn't have a single clue as to the UnSub's whereabouts.

The woman that had entered the police station turned out to be nothing but a mental home escapee, and Garcia's background check yielded nothing that could make her an UnSub.

It seemed as if Reid and Prentiss dropped off the face of the earth.

"I've got Garcia checking the records of everyone in the comfort area again, in case we missed something," Morgan said, dropping into the seat across from Hotch. Hotch chose not to mention how fruitless the search would be, since he knew that his fellow profiler was hurting, and Morgan wasn't one to remain actionless; he needed to work at all times.

Instead, Hotch turned back to the file in his hands. Considering how many times he had read the same thing over and over, he figured he could repeat all the information out loud, word for word, without a single glance at the papers themselves.

Sighing, Hotch closed the file and set it down on the table. He stood, grabbed his empty mug and made his way to the coffee machine, relieved to see a fresh pot waiting for him. He poured the desired caffeine into his mug, added a spoonful of sugar, and made his way back to the table and the small remainder of his team.

It was going to be a long day.

.

Garcia's hands flew over the keyboard, and she couldn't smother a noise of frustration as her search yielded nothing once again.

She thought about her little Boy Genius and beautiful Em, trapped with some maniac. A wave of helplessness washed over her, and she couldn't help but open her purse to rummage through it in order to find the special picture she carried around with her. It was a picture of the BAU gathered in the bullpen during Christmas last year. Everyone but Rossi was wearing elf hats, and the oldest member didn't look happy wearing a Santa hat, but Garcia knew that it was because Morgan teased him about his 'old age' moments before the picture was taken, since Rossi did enjoy spending time with the team. Garcia didn't have to be a profiler to know that.

In the center was Reid, half of his green and red elf hat pushed down over his eyes. Morgan's sly smile proved him as the culprit, and Garcia smiled. She remembered how flushed Reid had gotten as he pulled off his hat and attempted to fix his hair, all the while Morgan chuckled. Prentiss had gotten revenge for the BAU's youngest by reaching up and yanking Morgan's elf hat over his eyes, nose, and part of his mouth. The entire team had burst into laughter, and it was heartwarming to see all her friends laughing and happy after seeing all the stuff they had that year.

Garcia abruptly turned and began to go over the file again. She was going to put her family back together no matter what.

.

J.J. wanted nothing more than to save Reid and Prentiss, but for now, she could only settle for calling Henry and Will.

She closed her eyes when she heard Henry's laughter in the background when Will answered the phone. She missed her boys so much.

"Hi, Chere. We were just about to wash our hands for lunch," Will greeted.

J.J. felt her heart ache at the sound of her husband's voice. "I won't be long. I just wanted to talk to you and Henry."

Sensing the sadness in her voice, Will asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"The UnSub has Spencer and Emily," J.J. admitted. A part of her wasn't thrilled to share important case information with Will, even if he was her husband, but the bigger part was grieving for her lost friends and desired the comfort.

"Oh, Chere… there's no - " Will stopped mid-sentence, and J.J. heard Henry's footsteps race into the room.

"Let me speak to him," J.J. said softly. Will passed the phone to their son, and J.J. nearly cried hearing her son's bright voice say, "Hi, Mommy!"

"Hi, baby boy," J.J. replied, trying her best to sound as chirpy as her son did. Her voice fell slightly flat, and Henry took notice.

"Mommy sad?" He questioned.

"No, baby. Mommy just misses you."

"I miss you too, Mommy."

"Don't worry. Mommy will be home soon, and we can go get ice cream with Daddy, okay?"

"Ice cweam? Otay Mommy!" J.J. could hear the smile in his voice, and she smiled gently.

"Mommy is going to speak to Daddy, now. I love you. Go clean up for lunch."

"Otay Mommy. I love you too."

By the time J.J. finished saying goodbye to Will and hung up, Morgan appeared, looking determined.

"Garcia found something."

.

Once everyone had gathered in the conference room, Garcia brought up a picture on her laptop and turned it to face the awaiting members of her team.

"Okay, so I started monitoring these areas - " Garcia tapped a few buttons and two small circles appeared on the city map " - ever since Reid pointed it out the pattern and it's been quiet and boring but in the last ten minutes there has been something freaky happening in both locations."

Garcia tapped a few more keys, and the screen divided to show two separate surveillance videos. On both screens, a tarp covered the unmistakable form of a body.

J.J. gasped, and the sound startled everyone into action.

"Rossi, you go to the first location. Morgan and I will go to the second one. I'll ask the sheriff to gather up all available officers," Hotch said, and Morgan glanced at the new crime scenes with a sinking feeling in his chest.

Swallowing back the grief filling his chest, he snatched his FBI bulletproof vest just in case, and ran to go start up the SUV for when Hotch joined him.

He wondered whose body he would find waiting for him. A part of him selfishly hoped that it was anyone else but Reid or Prentiss. Then he shook his head in shame. He shouldn't wish death on anyone.

Anyone but the UnSub, that is. And Morgan knew that the second he had the bastard in his hands, he would make sure that their death wasn't something that came quickly.

.

It was a twenty minute drive from the station to the second location, which was an area full of mostly empty warehouses and one gas station they got the video feed from, but with Morgan driving, it was a mere ten minutes. They roared to a stop across the street from the dump site, and Hotch had jumped out of the car before it made a complete stop. He instinctively checked both sides of the street before crossing and joining Morgan, who had suddenly paused a few feet away from the tarp. Hotch joined him, his heart heavy.

A puddle of blood had gathered underneath the body, but it looked mostly dry, now. Hotch took the last few steps closer, crouching besides the tightly wrapped body. It looked tall and lanky, and Hotch swallowed and he reached out and gently tugged the tarp far back enough to check the face, just to be sure.

It wasn't Reid.

.

During the drive over to the development group of suburban ranch houses that his assigned crime scene was located at, Rossi had decided that checking the body's identity would be like ripping off the bandage. One quick peek, no hesitation, and a quick answer.

But as he pulled up, spotting the dark blue tarp-enveloped body, he froze for a moment. A member of his family could be wrapped up in that tarp, most likely dead, and he felt his heart ache at the mere thought of finally revealing this latest victim.

Rossi took a deep breath and opened the SUV door, climbing out wearily. Even from here, he knew who it was waiting for him. The shorter and curvy form was nearly unmistakable.

Of course, he had to be sure.

He crossed the street, his eyes focused on the body waiting to be examined. He bent down beside it, and sending a mental prayer to any God listening, he reached out and gently pulled down the tarp, just enough to see the victim's face.

Prentiss's eyes snapped open at the sudden light, and when she saw Rossi, she began to cry in relief.


End file.
